Ben, no problem! Since we got most all of the same shots (including one that is almost dead on exact!) I'll add just a few more. After Radium, we continued along Trough Rd to Inspiration Point and had lunch. As our luck would have it, we were trainless for the 30 min. lunch break. So I snapped a "scenery" picture. -Mike
Seeing no action from Kremmling all the way to Hot Sulphur Springs, Ben spots an old Rio Grande caboose in the middle of town. Come to find out it's part of a museum on the history of Grand County, CO. It was a great little museum with a lot of info on the D&RGW. Glad you seen it Ben! Check the prices of this caboose!!!! Old snow plow sitting outside next to the caboose After that nice little side excursion, we were back on our way to the West Portal. Again we were trainless in Granby and Tabernash, so I shot another scenery pic with the slopes of Winter Park ski resort in the background Ok Ben, I know you snapped a lot more photos than I did, lets see them! -Mike
Welcome back Mike and GREAT shots! Looks like I had better get to resizing and uploading some more photos. Ben
Just a heads up so you guys are aware. All three coal mines on the Northfork subdivision are having issues and traffic is going to be way down for probably the next month. Currently, they're just averaging a train a day between the four of them. Sucks for work AND for railfans.
The West Elk mine is into a bunch of rock and has decided to keep mining through it, as it will take just as long to cut through it as move their longwall cutter. This means they have to wash their coal, and while I don't know what's involved with that, I do know they can only wash (wash out dirt and rocks) about 10,000 tons a day. Most coal trains need 13-15,000 tons, so... They're also having trouble with methane accumulation. They are drilling vents, but it won't be completed for another 4-6 weeks. The Oxbow Somerset mine had a "bounce" about 2-3 weeks ago, no one was seriously hurt. (the floor of area being mined heaved upwards about 10 feet, as opposed to a cave in) The Feds have kept them shut down until they come up with a satisfactory plan for continued production. The Bowie mine is in the process of moving their longwall cutter, which is about a 4 week process. And Terror Creek is Terror Creek... they only produce a train a week (at most).
Bummer but thanks for the heads up. I had hoped to possibly make it down to Bridgeport Saturday to catch a few shots. So are you going to be able to pick up some other locals while the coal traffic is down? Ben
Now for the west portal of the Moffat Tunnel! The trains were a little slow so we took some time photographing things of interest while we waited for Amtrak to approach. I sure hope that Mike's attempt at an uncluttered shot of the portal turned out. Ben
Good shots of the MOW equipment Ben! This is about an uncluttered shot as I could get without getting too far onto RR property. Uncle Pete is watching you!!! Ben got all the good angles on the approach, so here's a few more portal shots The observation car is gonna be dark for about 15 minutes! Mike
Red eyes! After Amtrak headed for the other side of the continental divide, Ben, his son and I needed to head back to Grand Junction. We had no activity again until we hit the siding at Troublesome. I ran across the street hoping for some decent shots, but nothing turned out good until the rear DPU went by. Out of all the shots I took this day, I'm pretty partial to this one. I've always liked the siding's name, and finally got a shot of the CP with a train in it. Hopefully Ben got some good shots of the final moving train of the day. -Mike
Ben, I am wondering of you got a shot of me getting a shot of that coal train.... or when I ran back across the street with my arms up... :/ haha Mike
Ben, You do know what this truck represents, right? That's correct, this is a bonafide D&RGW survivor. Rio Grande painted their highway vehicles varying shades of blue, as well as white. Superb catch! Thanks for the shots from the western slope. You guys rock! Troublesome is a cool name for a siding, and one of my fav west slope shots is from there. The temp was well below zero, the sun had just crept above the mountains, and a westbound charges towards Kremmling and points west (back with the old school D&SL signals): My buddy Alaska GP49 has a better shot from the other side of the road: (Mikel Levine shot)
As a matter of fact I believe I did cach you in one shot. Maybe I should get to resizing them so you can see it....... I was pretty sure that this was from the D&RGW days. Now I am confident that it is! BTW - Excellent photos!! Get a hold of us when you get back to the U.S. so we can plan a railfanning adventure. Ben
